Charges dropped against former Cleveland cop

VANESA BRASHIER

Published 10:31 am, Friday, January 11, 2013

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Charges dropped against former Cleveland cop

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The money laundering and theft charges against former Cleveland police officer Bluford Blankenship have been dropped by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in exchange for $25,000 in restitution and the permanent surrender of his peace officer license, according to Assistant District Attorney Andrew James.

The charges against Blankenship stem from his wife’s embezzlement of nearly $400,000 from Cut ‘n’ Shoot Inc., a construction company owned by John and Eliza Dueitt.

Bluford’s wife, Loretta, worked for the elderly couple as an office manager beginning in 2006. During the two-year period of time until her arrest in 2008, she had forged checks to herself totaling around $340,000. Her actions also resulted in close to $100,000 in unpaid bills and bank overdraft fees.

In November 2009, Loretta was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Last year, the Dueitts protested her request for parole because they felt justice had not been served.

“We had to go put in our two cents. I imagine she will get out of it because she can make people feel sorry for her,” said Eliza. “The system is too light on prisoners today. It just tells people like her to commit their crimes because the punishment will be light.”

Though it’s only a fraction of the total amount stolen, the $25,000 restitution payment, which was made as a lump sum payment by Bluford, comes too late for John Dueitt. He died in October 2012 at the age of 84.

His wife says that losing their life savings took a toll on his health.

“I think both of us suffered. He had several things that came up immediately after this happened. He ended up needing a pacemaker and got a blood disorder,” said Eliza. “But what killed him ended up being cancer.”

The couple was married for 63 years at the time of his death. Eliza continues to operate the couple’s business with their son.